Cape Town – The Department of Environmental Affairs has called for the establishment of a statutory body to represent the renewable energy sector.
The suggestion was raised and emphasised by the department’s climate change and energy special advisor Mark Gordon.
He was speaking on Thursday on the last day of the International Windaba (wind) energy conference which started in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Gordon said that such a body could result in the industry being taken seriously by the government and also allow them to speak with a unified voice.
Challenging the sector, he asked them several questions regarding their absence and lack of input in the making of government policies such as the Integrated Resources Plan and the New Growth Path.
Gordon addressed the conference delegates on climate change and ensuring a low carbon South Africa in future. He said that 80 percent of the carbon emission in the country came from the energy sector with 48 percent contributed by coal in the generation of electricity.
He said that SA aimed to reduce carbon emissions by 34 percent by 2020 and 45 percent by 2025, adding that the government would announce a carbon tax in April next year. The tax would be designed in such a way that the poor would not be badly hit.
Gordon also hinted that electricity tariffs were bound to increase by 25 percent between the next three to 5 years.
On the upcoming CO17 conference in Durban, he told BuaNews that a “political agreement” rather than an illegally binding one was likely to be reached.
Renewable energy expert from non-profit Green Connection Liz McDaid said the carbon tax should not be passed on and be borne by the poor.
She challenged the industry to consult communities before deciding to build a wind farm.
McDaid said that the industry should also benefit women and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).
“We need serious integrated commitments by all (government) departments…empowerment of communities is the key to success,” she said.
On the same platform, Professor Wikus van Niekerk from the University of Stellenbosch said that South Africa needed to produce nearly 1000 wind energy engineers per year by 2027 in order for industry to succeed.
For this year alone he said that the country would need to produce 52 engineers for the sector.
“We are really too late to train engineers for wind energy in South Africa,” he said.
Bio Therm Energy chief executive Jasandra Nyker said that SA had potential for “compelling growth of renewable energy”.
She said that private investors could invest in manufacturing equipment and technological enhancement among others. – Francis Hweshe, BuaNews
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